In fact, the Republican Party's economic agenda is harsher than anything even Germany's been willing to propose. So why hasn't there been a successful U.S. electoral countermovement along Syriza's lines? There are a number of reasons.

Austerity folks keep insisting starvation is the only way to recover from the biggest credit binge since the Great Depression. The latest example is House Republicans' passing of Paul Ryan's budget proposal that punishes the poor to pay for the excesses of the wealthiest.